news conference on the tense five-day standoff outside an underground bunker. holed up inside is a terrified 5-year-old boy and his armed captor. let's go straight to the scene with cnn's victor blackwell. victor, what are we expecting to hear from this presser? >> reporter: well, we have not been given the details of what this announcement will be, but i can tell you this prelsser is different from the ones of yesterday and all the ones canceled on thursday. we'll hear from dale county sheriff wally olson and trooper kevin cook from alabama state police. we've been told there will be new information. we know that this line of communication with jimmy lee dykes has been opened overnight. we know that the temperatures overnight have been below freezing for the first time so, that has been the greatest worry for the safety of this boy. but, again, a news conference is scheduled to start in just about five minutes. if you see me look off to my left just about probably 40, 50

feet from me is where this news conference will happen. of course we'll bring you updates as they come in. miguel? >> what have you learned, victor, about how this 5-year-old is holding up right now? >> reporter: well, i can tell you up with of the things that has been reported over the past couple days is that he has been heard crying. and that originated from a comment from the mayor of midland city, virgil skipper. so i spoke with him this morning about if he, indeed, heard the boy crying himself. so i said, have you been to the bunker? she said no, i haven't been past the barrier. did you speak with someone who heard the boy crying i asked him. he said no one told me that specifically. so that was speculation about this boy crying in a bunker fer his parents. he said you know he's crying. he's a 6-year-old boy. well, we know that he's 5, and that again is just an assumption that the boy is crying. we'll get more information from the authorities when this news conference starts in a few moments. miguel? >> such a crazy way this unfolded with the bus driver,

incredibly brave bus driver, keeping this gunman from getting on the bus, letting 20-some kids out the back, this other young man taken by him. do we have any sense of a possible motive? >> reporter: this all started on tuesday when a school bus stopped in front of a road that leads up to the property owned by jimmy lee dykes. what we know from someone who lives in this community, has been here for decades, is that dykes is someone who is very serious about his property rights. he patrols in the night with a gun in one hand and a flashlight in the other. a good friends of the bus driver said the bus drive ended at the base of the road that leads up to jimmy lee dykes' property and every day the bus driver would make a turn at the base of that road and drive on o that road and that angered jimmy lee

dykes. we do not know specifically the motive, but we know that this man was supposed to be in court on wednesday for a charge of menacing for shooting at another neighbor, the neighbor says, because he damaged that road. again, a man who's very serious about property rights. the question here is did that turning onto the road every day anger jimmy lee dykes. we're told that charles pollin actually took eggs and jelly to dykes to try to make amends for his anger over driving over the road. tuesday afternoon when that bus stopped again, that is when we're told by authorities dykes went on with a gun, demanded two children, pollin put himself in front of as many children as he could, save 2g 1 of them, but that 5-year-old, the krgt kindergarten, was snatched, dragged into a hole and they've been there for five days, miguel. >> victor, if you would stick around for a few minutes when that presser starts up.

>> reporter: we've got them walking up right behind us now. sheriff olson, trooper kevin cook with the latest on this standoff that started tuesday afternoon when we're told that man, jimmy lee dykes, neighbors have identified him as, dragged the boy into that hole, into the bunker. let's listen for updates from authorities. >> good morning. are we all ready to get started? excuse me. i'm sorry. again, i'd like to thank everybody for your continued patience. our volunteers and our community for the continued prayers and support. i want to update you on our current situation. overnight, we had an open line of communication with mr. dykes. i know last night one of the questions was asked about the child's condition. mr. dykes through our communication we've been able

to -- he's told us that he has an electric heater and some blankets inside, that he's taking care of him. we also -- he's also allowed us to provide coloring books, medication, toys. i want to thank him for taking care of our child. that's very important. and this time i'm going to let you ask me a couple questions. but, you know, it needs to be brief and there's very limited on what i can give you, so please -- >> what medication is the child getting? >> i can't release it. >> do we know he's actually taking it or -- >> what do we know about the actual state of the child? >> we can only do a couple. >> does he have television or electricity? >> we don't have a lot of details of that. okay? >> we're hearing that the bus driver hit an emergency button inside the bus to call police.

>> i don't have any information on that. >> can you tell us any details about your conversation with the suspect? >> we've been in constant communication with mr. dykes. >> is he making any demands? >> at this time, like i said, i can only answer a few questions. and i've got to get back across the street. our pio is going to talk to you about further information down the road. thank you. >> if you have any questions, you can send them to my e-mail address, kevin.cook@dps -- >> again, sheriff wally olson of the dale county sheriff's office. they announced there will be another press conference tonight. the update, again, there's been open line of communication and mr. dykes has informed negotiators that there is electricity there, he has electric heaters and blankets. and he has allowed negotiators to provide coloring books, toy, medication. we have been told early on that

this boy needed medication for asthma and possibly asperger's. no details about communication as it relates to a television or radio. but i can tell you this -- authorities have told us several times that they did not want us to show live the tactics that were happening as they were approaching this property. also, they have been very limited in the details that they gave us. why? because they do not want to agitate the person in this bunker who neighbors have identified as jimmy lee dykes. well, the question then is, if he does not have television, if he doesn't have a radio, why would it matter that they would tell us some of those details? he would only get those through either watching tell vigts or listening to the radio or having some type of communication with someone who does. but, again, they skipped over that question really quickly about is there a television or is there a radio there. constant communication. that was something we heard from the trooper this morning, that the lines even overnight were open discussing this with

mr. dykes. and i think it was important that the sheriff made a point to say that he wants to thank mr. dykes for allowing the coloring books and the medication and the toys down to this boy. again, five days this kindergartner has been in this hole with a man he's never met, who in the middle of the afternoon on tuesday according to authorities rushed onto a bus, shot the driver, and dragged him into that hole. miguel? >> such a terrifying story, victor. thank you very much for keeping up with it. we are going to keep up on this story this oompb and come back to you for updates. thanks. now an update on new allegations of doping against new york yankees star alex rodriguez. a-rod is being accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs from a florida clinic. but this is not the first time the 37-year-old has admitted in the past to doping but says he's been clean since 2003. national correspondent susan candiotti is live for us in new york. susan? >> reporter: hi, miguel. a-rod is again trying to distance himself from this

week's controversy involving peds and the miami clinic. there's another report saying alex rodriguez got home visits to his mansion from a man who ran the clinic. espn quoting unidentified sours says that man, anthony bosh, injected a-rod with performance-enhancing drugs. once bosh was reportedly kicked out of a-rod's home after bosh allegedly had trouble finding a vein. similar drug claims were leveled earlier this week in the miami new times newspaper which says it has a diary containing notes from bosh detailing drugs, including human growth hormone given to several athletes. now, cnn's been unable to independently see the documents in question. we have been to the clinic, but it's been shut down. now, bosh denies all allegations. through a spokesman he tells cnn he did not treat nor is he associated with players, including a-rod. an earlier statement to cnn, a-rod also says none of this is true and through his lawyers

calls the documents about him illegitimate. in a snu nu statement issued last night, a-rod's lawyers add this -- "in regards to the new allegations made on espn's outside the lines story, we can say that they are not true. alex is diligently working on his rehabilitation and is looking forward to getting back on the field as soon as possible." a-rod, you'll remember, has reportedly said he stopped taking production in 1993. and remember, he is recovering from hip surgery. back to you. >> susan, if major league baseball's investigation into this clinic goes anywhere, what impact might it have on a-rod's contract with the yankees? >> you're right to say "if" this investigation goes anywhere. it's a good question. under a collective bargaining agreement teams can not discipline players for this kind of thing. our cnn legal analyst, paul callan, tells us a-rod's main worry would be a suspension from the baseball commissioner and that could affect his contract with the yankees.

>> obviously if he's not showing up to play baseball because of a suspension, they would have certain rights under the contract then to pay him, well, nothing or considerabliless money. but it gets complicated because of the multiple agreements in question. >> reporter: and of course we're a long way off from that. no idea where major league baseball's investigation is heading. miguel? >> susan candiotti, thank you very much. the baltimore ravens and the san francisco 49ers battle it out tomorrow at the super bowl. so what do their quarterbacks need to do to get that coveted ring? we'll ask legendary nfl star, who's already had one, joe theismann. he joins us live. spring temperatures one day, freezing cold the next. what's behind the wacky weather? we'll find out. and a 7-year-old boy is handcuffed by police after being accused of stealing from a classmate. the family is outraged and want the police to pay up. [ male announcer ] pillsbury grands biscuits.

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wow, very cool. one man who knows a lot about what super bowl sunday means is joe theismann. the former nfl quarterback led the washington redskins to back-to-back super bowl appearances and won the ring in 1983 in super bowl xvii. and we are so glad to welcome joe theismann in the "cnn

newsroom" live from new orleans. joe, it's the day before the biggest game of their lives. what's going through the minds of the quarterbacks and their teammates right now? >> i think, you know, miguel, there's a sense of relief right now that you're one day before the game because for the two weeks before you've had to deal with all the anticipation, all the questions, all the media interviews. right now you finally get a chance to have a little bit of peace of mind and really focus on the task at hand tomorrow night. so i think there's a sense of peace. i know it was for me when i got ready on a saturday night getting ready to play. >> when you walk into that stadium, though, what is the sense like? just utter awe? >> it really is. i mean, that's when the moment starts to hit you and you realize you're participating in a super bowl. this is the last game of the year. we're the last teams standing. and this is an opportunity that very few people are afforded. we've had a lot of guys come through this that have never won one. a lot of guys put on uniforms never won one.

i know when i walk swood the field in pasadena, i walked up and down the field because i wanted to see it all just in case something bad happened. >> ray lewis is probably one of those guys who is really going to be watching and enjoying these last moments. what does it mean for him, who could end his career, i guess, go out on top, what if he loses his last outing? what do you think of mr. lewis? >> i think in re's case he's been the face of the ravens for so long, been such a great player in our league for so long, and a terrific ambassador. yes, he's had his things happen to him in his career, but as far as football goes, he's been the heart and soul of the ravens. for him to be able to go out with a victory he would join i think john elway and jerome bettis as guys that left the game with the ring being their last game. i think it's very important to him. but just the ride over the last three weeks and the improbable nay thur with which they got here and the way they struggled is so important. and ray is such a vital part of it. >> they both have such big running games. what sort of game do you expect

tomorrow? >> you know, i think everybody's sort of looking at this game as one where joe flacco and colin kaepernick will put the ball in the air. the ravens have to. that's their m.o. they throw it down the field. ray rice probably won't run a the ball a lot but he should be a big part of catching the football. when it comes to the san francisco 49ers, with kaepernick in there in the playoffs, i think their average is 286 yards roughly running the football. i'd expect the 49ers to run it. i expect the ravens to try and put it down the field. and something's going to happen in this game. i promise you. when we do this broadcast worldwide to 146 countries, they're going to be talking about it all around the world saying that was amazing. there's always something that happens in the game. >> all right. interesting. so let's talk about your team, the redskins, and rg3. we saw that terrible injury of robert griffin iii in the playoff loss to seattle and many people harken that back to your career-ending leg injury in 1985, which is still very, very hard to watch. was it worth it?

is there's a lot of concern about this. was it worth it for rg3 to play in that game? >> i think there certainly is a lot of concern because there's been like 29 quarterbacks that have quarterbacked the washington redskins since i left. so there's ban lot of turnover in that position. they've really been looking for one guy to become really the face of the franchise. robert has done that. terrific young man. great representative not only of himself, baylor university, but the washington redskins. and we want him to be the quarterback for a long, long time. he's going to learn how to take care of himself a little bit more. from what i understand, the rehab's going very well. wouldn't surprise me if he comes back better than he was this year. >> that's nice to hear. after years, the nfl is now paying more attention to injuries, concussion, unlike in your era, really. we've had congressional hearings. should this have happened sooner? >> it's hard to say because so much more attention has been

given now and safety is a priority both for the league and the players association. but miguel, here's a little bit of the catch-22. it's a violent contact game. if you legislate contact out of football, you no longer have football. so it's a very, very thin ice, thin line that you have to look at and say what's a great hit, what's separating the ball from a receiver, and what's a hit that's too hard. in football, defensive backs are taught to separate the wide receivers from the ball. that requires a lot of contact. we certainly don't want to see guys hurt. we certainly want safety to be a priority. but you have to understand the nature of the game. i think when you're a police officer, you understand what your job is. when you're a fireman, you understand what your job is. there are hazards and risks that go with it. when you sign that contract and put a uniform on, you may wind up waking up like i do every morning taking a lot more time out to get out of bed to make sure all the sore parts get working in the right way. >> joe theismann, thanks for

joining us. >> thank you for having me. and on the eve of super bowl xlvii, cnn is live in new orleans with our take on the biggest sporting event in the country. what it means to the city, how it became such a cultural phenomenon, and more. we welcome rachel nicholls as she hosts "kickoff in new orleans," a cnn bleacher report special, this afternoon 4:00 p.m. eastern. should a religious school p allowed to force teachers to prove their faith? a california school says yes, and two teachers who have refused have ended up in court. [ rosa ] i'm rosa and i quit smoking with chantix. when the doctor told me that i could smoke for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these

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the family of a 7-year-old boy is suing the nypd and the city of new york for $250 million claiming police handcuffed the child and held him in custody for ten hours

after he was accused of stealing five bucks from a classmate. let's bring our legal guys, avery friedman, civil rights attorney and law professor, is in cleveland, and richard herman, a criminal defense attorney and law professor, is in new york. let me lay out the facts in this case first. police arrested 7-year-old wilson reyes in his bronx school in december. he was charged with robbery, but those charges were later dropped. his mom took a photo of him in the cuffs. you're looking at that right now. she says police treated him like a criminal and now he's traumatized. listen to her lawyer. >> it's unconscionable. this is such a travesty what occurred here, heartbreaking. >> the imageover this handcuffed kid is pretty powerful, but will this case ever go to court? avery? weigh in there. >> yeah, it's not going to court. you know what, everybody in this case, miguel, seems like they're

overcaffeinated. what's going on right now is you've got a 7-year-old who grabbed five bucks, and technically, by the way, it was a robbery. but the idea of a $250 million lawsuit, look, i train police departmented, i've remitted police officers. their behavior is way out of line. the law that's being used is an 1871 federal civil rights law. but the fact is there were a multitude of ways this matter could have been reresolved. i think all parties are out of line. there may be some liability but it will never go to trial. won't happen. >> richard, do you agree with that? this kid was -- he also beat up this kid. apparently he looks like an angel but he's a tough little guy and police said, look, we were detaining him. that's what this was about. richard? >> they had the right to do this. this young man, this 7-year-old, punched the boy in the nose and lip, caused it to bleed, got a fat lip, took the $5. the report was made --

apparently this kid was harassing him also for a period of time and the mother had made complaints. anyway, the police came and there is a procedure in new york that if you are between 7 and 17 you can be arrested like this. the police followed that procedure. is that the right procedure? i don't know. go to the legislature. change the laws. but they followed the procedure. claiming he was handcuffed for ten hours, the police say it was only four hours. they let his mother see him, got him food. they ended up dropping the charges. but, look, they -- >> they put the cuffs on him. >> they had the right do that. the kid ran away, there would have been a problem and the police would have been blamed for that as well. look, i think they overreacted. two officers maybe could have sat with the kid instead of handcuffing him. $250 million? let me tell you something, there ain't no way this is coming down anywhere near that if they get paid a dime. they may not get anything on this case. >> all right. let's move to our second case, the little oaks elementary in thousand oaks, california, is

suing two former teacher who is threatened to sue over a requirement that they provide proof of their faith. the school was bought by the church in 2009. the lawyers say it's a first amendment issue. avery, let me start with you. >> this is a very complicated case. may not seem so, but the battle is, does the state of california have the right to tell all schools you don't have the right to require a proof of faith, in other words, religious commitment. and on the other hand, does the school have a first amendment freedom of religion argument? and that's the battle. ultimately, what's interesting here is the school jumped the gun, miguel. what happened is they brought a federal lawsuit against the teachers who never brought the case in federal court in the first place. the federal court will dils miss the case without ever answering this critical question. so we'll really never know the

answer because there's no what the courts call justifiable issue. >> part of the argument from the teacher's side is the school is a for-profit sbi fi, not a not profit. >> doesn't matter. >> the if the school is receiving funds for the state and they are for profit, certain rules apply to them as opposed to if they were a not for profit. whether or not the teachers would be compelled to respond to an answer like this or to assert their faith in a questionnaire, which they denied, i think because the school is a profit-based institution the teachers had every right to deny it. it is discrimination. and i think the teachers will ultimately win this case. >> avery, you disagree? >> yeah. i don't think public/private, public funds make any difference. the legislature in sacramento made no distinction. i think that the teachers have an interesting case because they're tree from those kind of continue stranls. i just don't understand why the school jumped the gun and

brought a case to federal court. no reason for it yet. >> they felt federal law would trump state law and if they got a favorable ruling in the federal court and the teacher wons in the state court, federal would trump state. >> that's the point, it's not in court. they jumped the gun. >> gentlemen, thank you very much. we'll be back in 20 minutes to taung about a startling new revelation from the jonbenet ramsey case. she was found dead more than 16 years ago. he was a true top dog who had the run of the white house. we have sad news about the bushes' scottish terrier barney. and homes turned into piles of rubble, violent storms rip through the south. [ laughs ] now this is a test drive. whoa! you really feel all 335 foot-pounds of torque. it's chevy truck month! silverado was also recognized for the lowest cost of ownership. hey, what are you gonna do with it? end table. oh.

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welcome back. i'm miguel marquez in for fredricka whitfield. thanks for join us. now to those allegations of free flights and hiring of prostitutes by new jersey senator robert menendez. the senate ethics committee is investigating the lawmaker. jim acosta has the details. juror the senate ethics rules are clear when it comes to free flights menendez accepted. the senator did not, as required, report them on his financial disclosure form. the question is what, if anything, the ethics committee will do about it.

it was another day of a very public senator keeping a very low profile. outside a dinner thursday night featuring new jersey's top political leaders, bob menendez offered only a few words in response to the questions flooding his office. >> i have comments i've already put through my office. >> nameless, faceless, anonymous allegations. >> reporter: just as menendez is officially becoming chairman of the senate foreign relations committee, a key member of the senate ethics committee is indicating the panel is looking into a raid on the offices of menendez' friend and doctor. in a statement, "we are aware of the news reports regarding the fbi raid on dr. melgen's office." one potential violation of ethics rules, the free flights menendez look on his private jet to the dominican republic in 2010. on his financial disclosure form for that same year, menendez said no, he did not receive any

reportable travel worth more than $335. his own office says now the flights were worth $58,000. menendez rebim ursed melgen two years after accepting the flights but according to a watchdog, that might not be a violation of senate ethics rules. >> it's only in the ethics committee where you can pay back money and get off the hook. >> she says the trips amount to gifts that should have been reported promptly. >> he should have paid the charter rate for the trips at the time or disclosed them, and he didn't do either of those things. >> reporter: sloan's group turned over its own file on menendez to the fbi last summer including an e-mail from a man claiming the senator was flying to the dominican republic to meet with prostitutes, a story that eventually occurred on a website. as for dr. melgen, he is a big campaign contributor. he donated more than $100,000 to the senator's re-election

campaign. >> 2012 was supposed to be his year. >> melgen's company sent another $700,000 to a superpac that spent home run man a half million dollars to get me mendez re-elected. menendez at a hearing last year urged officials to help direct a security company to melgen. the rop republican in the state suggested it's time for menendez to address the questions head on. >> senator menendez has been in public life over two decades. i think he has a complete understanding of what he believes his responsibility is. >> reporter: when asked why menendez failed to report those flights on his disclosure form, his staff did not respond. intentionally falsifying these forms is a federal crime. it says so right on the form. miguel? >> thank you, jim acosta. now stories trending on the

internet. former new york mayor ed koch is dead. he was 88. and although he left office about 25 years ago he stayed relevant in politics throughout his life. president george w. bush's scottish terrier barney has died. the former first dog was 12 and had been sumping from lymphoma. condolences for the former fist family have been pouring in online. a huge stash, hundreds of never-before-seen color pictures of the beatles have been discovered. the photographer recently found his negatives for the pictures and published them. good news on wall street this week. but will the upswing extend into the housing market? ishg

. if you're looking to buy a house, we've got some good news. the housing market is finally making a comeback. in this week's "smart is the new

rich," christine romans explains why this year could be prime time to buy. >> reporter: this is what a recovering housing market looks like. an inspector looking things over before a final sale. an open house where 92 different brokers stop by. >> look at this. >> reporter: and home pries finally moving higher. in november, up 5.5%, the biggest gain in six years. and many experts agree, the recovery's just getting started. >> 2013 should be a very good year for the housing market. we expect the spring selling season to be quite robust. we've got historically low mortgage rates with a 30-year fixed being well below 4%, housing affordability. >> some sort of stool or something where you could sit there. >> reporter: those low mortgage rates are a boon for first-time home buyers. >> i think it's just the right time to buy right now. >> reporter: and for refinancers. this guy has refinanced twice in two years. >> if you can save even $100 to $150 it seems worth it. >> reporter: and you know it's real when the house flippers are

back. >> i just love taking an old ugly house and bringing life back to it. >> reporter: as we approach the chinese new year, the year of the snake, sure there's a long way to go. but deutsche bank calls 2013 the year of the house. christine romans, cnn, new york. >> edmonton tryly warm and cold temperatures, tornadoes, flood, and snow. a wild week of weather. we'll tell you what's causing it. and a new twist in the murder trial of a woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend more than two dozen times.

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it has been a wild week of weather in parts of the u.s., but finally a bit of good news from america's favorite ground hog. punxsutawney phil says winter is fading fast and spring is near. now, i should note that the furry prognosticator, there it is, has an accuracy rate of only 39%. thanks, phil. while that ground hog says spring is near, parts of the u.s. are still freezing and recovering from a devastating week of weather. i got a chance to see it first hand. we can see circulation in the clouds. >> reporter: topping a week of

wild weather, a reporter from atlanta affiliate wusb caught a twister as it touched down. it left one man dead and utter destruction. this is main street in adairsville, georgia. this is exactly where that tornado hit. you can see devastation on that side of the street, the trucks completely destroyed here, and on this side was a normal day of work here at the plant where they make parts for tractors, complete devastation, 50 to 100 people worki ing here today, al of them finding across this entire area, trucks, everything, shredded. the storms packed a punch nearly nationwide. record breaking 90-degree temps in south texas and a bone-chilling 40 45 below windchill in minot, north dakota. fargo saw snow and wind, lots of it. across the south, the storm turned deadly. in nashville, one man died when a tree fell on his home.

over in memphis, torrential rain and massive flooding, bridges, underpasses, inundated. missouri saw flash floods and winds so fierce it took 48 train cars off their track. des moines, iowa, saw record snowfall. in monticello, alan arkin, a horse barn collapsed, all 111 horses, all a-okay. indiana saw downed trees and fire, lightning suspected. in kentucky, it was strong winds flipping tractor-trailers like toys. and across alabama, high winds damaged a church and the skies opened up with rain and misery. i want to bring in meteorologist alexandra steele. alexandra, why? why are we seeing this weather? >> this is what happened. and it's a different scenario than now. we have this very amplified jet. you can see this is what's bringing this arctic air south to texas.

you can see also this incredibly warm air bringing the gulf of mexico moisture and this heat all the way as far north as maine. so 150-mile-per-hour jet as well. remember, there was a lot of wind energy with this. usually the jet stream's about 100 miles per hour so, that was strong. also very strong at the surface, southerly winds, but 100 miles per hour. so the winds were there. there's the warmth and here's what happened. so miguel weather the warm and the cold, the clashing set off these severe storms and the snow. so record severe weather. >> and what's ahead? this weekend, next week? >> big-time change, finally back to a typical january, february pattern, no severe weather, but some snow, you can see it, chicago, cincy, toward the northeast, even washington will see some snow showers, maybe about an inch or so. there's where the winter advisories are, and there's the big picture for today. things pretty quiet other than that snow. >> thank you very much. new revelations in the jonbenet ramsey murder case and they involve the parents of the child beauty queen.

our legal guys will weigh in.

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it's a surprising twist to the jonbenet ramsey case. our legal guys are back. avery friedman in cleveland, richard herman in new york. this week we found out that a grand jury voted in 1999 to indict the 6-year-old beauty queen's parents on charges of child abuse leading to death. the d.a. didn't file the charges against john and patty ramsey saying he didn't have enough evidence. the new information came to the boulder daily camera, which also reported that although the grand jurors voted for indictment they were okay with the decision not to prosecute. gentlemen, bizarre. why is this coming out now, richard? >> i don't know why. but how scary is that? that's why, you know, they say a grand jury, you can indict a ham sandwich, i mean, they could have and they did. but leave it to the prosecutor. i mean, you have to tip your hat to this prosecutor.

they made an independent analysis and made a determination because they have an ethical obligation only to bring cases they can win or they can potentially win. here there was no evidence linking the parents to the death of this child, and therefore the prosecutor stood tall under a lot of pressure and did not bring the criminal charges. >> avery, do you agree? it does sound like since her death so much has come out with dna evidence and the like that absolved the parents entirely. yes? >> yeah. i hate to agree with this guy. he's 100% right on that. i mean, the fact is when the grand jury comes back, in colorado, the prosecutor is supposed to sign that indictment, then go from there. but all an indictment means by a grand jury is that's where it starts. that's where the prosecutor starts, not where they finish. and the truth is unless a prosecutor in good faith thinks they can prove case beyond a reasonable doubt, it shouldn't go forward.

so i think, yeah, there was enormous, enormous public pressure. there was a question did patsy fake the ransom note and the like. but i think the prosecutors made the right decision. why it came out is somebody did something dishonest. that's a secret transcript, a secret proceeding. somebody leaked it. that's why it's out right now. shouldn't be out but it is. >> any idea, either of you, how often it is that prosecutors don't follow through on a grand jury indictment? >> we don't know those results, but i would venture to say it's probably less than 5%, miguel. that's just my guess. >> and avery -- >> probably right. >> any idea why this case is so fascinates people, just don't go away? >> oh, my goodness. the death of this beautiful child and all sorts of motives being ascribed by media and others. of course. this was the story that captured america at the time. certainly it will never go away. it was a horrendous crime which

still will never -- unlikely ever be solved. >> our next case has s one a lot of people are talking about, jodi arias in phoenix, on trial for murdering her ex-boyfriend in june 2008. travis alexander was found shot and stabbed 27 times and his throat slit from ear to ear. arias has pled not guilty saying it was self-defense and she was a victim of domestic violence. yesterday investigator introduced some lewd photos lawyers say alexander sent to arias. tell us about the latest move by the defense team. >> i don't know where they're going with this. this is a self-defense case. so they acknowledge even in the opening defense attorney says my client did it. now, in this jurisdiction, jurors have a right to ask questions. and some of the questions that jurors are asking is where are the alibis for the victim's roommates? where are they? this jury is obviously not focused in on this case. but miguel, in order -- and

let's face it, look, there was a same-caliber shotgun stolen from her parents that was used for this. >> that's right. >> to the face. 27 times stabbing. the throat cut. a camera, taking pictures with her at the crime scene, then trying to destroy the camera and fleeing the jury diction. listen, this is a self-defense and in order to prove self-defense miss arias is going to have to get on the witness stand. >> she won't do it. won't happen. >> i'm sure the prosecution is salivating for that. >> how do you prove self-defense? >> her lawyers are trying to move from travis alexander was abusive, controlling so, she was forced to kill him. will the jury buy it? will she take the stand in her own defense? >> no. i mean, i've heard commentators say, oh, she has to take the stand, she will take the stand. she will never take the stand. i mean, these different stories about her -- and they've got the police tape on it, i don't know anything about it, secondly there were intruders, third, yeah, i did it, so i had to

shoot him twice and stab him 27 times. this is just an awful case. i don't understand about what possible defense there is. yeah, the jury's asking questions that are frankly off the wall. but because they have the right to do it, miguel, they're doing it. at the end of the day, and we have more witnesses to go, even the defense witnesses have not been helpf fuful to the defense. i don't understand how self-defense is going to be established. i don't understand how the defense is going to beat this prosecution. >> miguel, there's no chance of her walking out of that courtroom unless she takes the witness stand and gets to a couple of those jurors. she's going to have to testify. >> not going to happen. not going to happen. >> who likes the ravens and who likes the 49ers? >> this is ravens outright. take the money line. >> 49ers. everybody's banking on the -- it's the niners. >> gentlemen, thank you both very much for clearing up nothing at pull. thank you. >> miguel, you've been doing a wonderful job without fredricka. i want you to know that. fantast

fantastic. >> thank you very much. >> the legal guys are here every saturday at this time to give us their take on the most intriguing cases of the day. bo x deluxe level software or higher! find thousands of big deals now... ...at officemax. delicious. but say i press a few out flat... add some beef sloppy joe sauce... and cheese fold it all up and boom! i just made an unbeatable unsloppy joe pillsbury grands biscuits. let the making begin.

later this afternoon in the "cnn newsroom," was he a victim? we're talking manti te'o, the notre dame linebacker who he says he was the victim of a girlfriend hoax. is it a case of he said, he said? and is ito